Ice-making apparatus.



H. HECHEIMER.

ICE MAKING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION PILED .TAN.13,1913.

Patented Aug. 19, 1913.`

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rit r orrion HERBEBT HECHEIMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ICE-MAKING APPARATUS.

romane.

Application filed January 13, 1913.

To aZZ 'whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, llnnnnnr HECHEIMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and. State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in Tee-Making Apparatus, of which the following is a specification..

This invention relates to the manufacture of artificial ice from raw water and has more particular reference to the can in which the ice is frozen.

Prior to my present invention two difi'er- -ent systems for making artificial ice have been generally used, one system being known as the raw water system and the other the distilled water system. In the distilled water system ordinary ice cans are set in a tank of brine and filled with dist-illed water which is frozen therein by the cold brine surrounding the cans. It has heretofore been necessary to use distilled water in cans of this character 'for the reason that water containing impurities held in solution when permitted to freeze without removing the impurities and solids will pro- (luce white fiaky ice which melts Very rapidly and is unsatisfactory for refrigerating purposes. In the raw water system specially constructed ice cans are employed, each can being subjected, at its upper portion only, to brine or other freezing solution, while the lower portion of the can is maintained at a non-freezing temperature so that a zone of water will be present below the torming ice. It is also customary in these systems to cause the water in the ice eans to circulate by introducing compressed air into the nonfreezing zone thereby maintaining the impurities and air bubbles in the water in a state of motion sothat they do not adhere to the faces of the forming ice and are, therefore, not frozen into the ice block.

lt will be manifest that the distillation of the water in the distilled water system renders this method of producing ice very eX- pensive. On the other hand, the specially constructed ice cans of the raw water system make the initial installation cost of such a system quite high and a distilled water system can not be converted into a raw water system without discarding all the old distilled water ice cans and replacing them by the specially constructed raw water ice cans.

The primary object of my present inven- Speefication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 19,191&

Serial No. 741395.

tion is the provision of means whereby a distilled water ice making system can be converted into a raw Water system at a very moderate cost and without discarding the distilled water ice cans. lVith this end in View T have devised an insulator adapted to be positioned in the bottom of a distilled water iee can of usual construction which will delay the freezing of raw water in the bottom of the can and will render the can adaptable for use in a raw water system.

Another object is the provision of means whereby the surface of the insulator upon which the forming ice rests may be heated to loosen the ice and permit its removal from the can.

Other objects and advantages of the in vention will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings-Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice can equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig, l; and F ig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved insulator removed from the ice can.

On the drawings reference character 5 indicates an ice can or receptacle, preferably rectangular in shape and of Construction adapted for use in a dstilled water system. This can is adapted to be positioned or set upon the bottom 6 of a brine tank of any preferred Construction which may when in operation contain brine at a temperature considerably below freezing point so that the water in the ice cans surrounded by the brine is gradnally frozen. In order to convert such a can as this which has heretofore been customarily employed in a distilled water system into a can suitable for use in a raw water system, I have Constructed an insulator designated generally by reference character 7 adapted to fit the bottom of the can and eXtend upwardly along the side walls thereof, as shown. The body 8 ot' the insulator is composed of compressed cork, or any other suitable heat insulating material and is preferably surrounded by a casing 9 of sheet-metal, or other suitable water-proot material. The insulator as shown is shaped to cover the bottom of the can and extends upwardly a limited distance along the side and end walls thereof, thereby providing a chamber or receptacle at the bottom of the can which is insulated from the brine surrounding the can so that the freezing of the water in this chamber will be delayed for a considerable period after the cake of ice in the upper portion of the can subjected to the freezing brine has been formed.

For the purpose of agitating and maintaining a circulation of the water tobe frozen 1 have provided a pipe ll which is Xedly secured to the insulator and projects therethrough and also through the bottom of the ice can and the bottom 6 of the brine tank, this pipe being adapted for connection with a co mpressed air tank or pump adapted to supplv air under pressure through this pipe to the can. Leakage of the water in the can around the pipe 11 is obviated by swaging the inner end of the pipe as indicated at 12 and leakage of brine around the pipe beneath the can is precluded by means of a gasket 13 of rubber, or other suitable material, which is compressed around the pipe 11 and against the bottom of the can by a nut or washer 14: which is held in position by a lock-nut 15. The water in the can above the insulator is subjected to the freezing temperature of the surrounding brine and gradually freezes into the form of a cake as indicated in Fig. 1. The conpressed air introduced through the pipe ll maintains the water in a state of agitation so that the im purities and solids contained in the water are prevented from freezing into the cake. Since the ice freezes from the sides of the can inwardly the center will be the last to freeze and a passageway is accordingly afforded through which the air may escape at the top of the can. The water in the chamber surrounded by the insulator walls being insulated from the freezing brine will be delayed from freezinp; for several hours after the cake above the insulator has frozen i solid and, since the cake is usually removed while a small channel still remains unfrozen in its center, it will be manifest that in normal operation the water in the insulator chamber will not be frozen and, in fact, the ice cake will only be frozen to the extent shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. When the ice cake has been formed it will be found to be frozen to the casing of the insulator as well as to the walls of the can and it is, therefore, necessary to apply heat to the insulator casing and to the can in order that the ice cake may be lifted out. The walls of the can are usually heated by replacing the freezing brine with warmer brine of higher temperature which will heat the cans and free the ice from the vertical walls thereof.

In order to free the ice from the insulator, 1 have provided it with a heating means which, in the embodiment of the invention shown on the drawings, comprises a Conduit or chamber 16 carried by and preferably embedded in the insulating material 8 and equipped with inlet and outlet pipes 18 and 1 8', respectively, through which hot water, steam, or other suitable heating medium may be circulated. Heat conducting strips 17 are preferably interposed between the heating chamber and the top and inner walls of the casing 9 where the ice forms so that the casing at these points will be heated to free the ice therefrom. If preferrcd, the heating means might be located in contact with or partially formed by the walls of the casing` thereby obviating the necessity of the conductors 17.

To prevent leakage around the pipes 18 and 18 a gasket 19 is interposed between the bottom of the can and the nut or washer 20 in an opening in the brine tank bottom 6 and the gasket is clamped and expanded to make a tight fit in the opening by forcing the nut or Washer 20 against its lower face, a lock-nut 21 being employed to retain the gasket under compression.

i An insulator such as I have illustrated may be manufactured as a unit and subsequently applied to a can of usual construction, thereby converting a distilled water ice can into a raw water ice can. It will be manifest, therefore, that a distilled water system may, by use of my invention, be changed to a raw water system at small cost and all the advantages of a raw water system be obtained without the expense of entirely reconstructing the apparatus. My invention also possesses advantages over the ordinary raw water systems in which the bottoms of the ice cans are exposed to the air for the reason that in these systems the ice in very cold weather will freeze solidly in the bottoms of the cans thereby closing the air inlet pipe and precluding agitation of the freezing water, while my improved insulator insulates not only the lower portion of the water chamber from the freezing brine but also insulates the bottom of the water column from the air beneath the can so that the bottom of the water column will not freeze even when the temperature of the air beneath the brine tank is much below freezing.

lVhile I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be obvious that the shape and Construction of the insulator may be varied and it might even be designed to fit the outside instead of the inside of the can. 1 do not wish to be understood, therefore, as limiting myself to the exact structure disclosed but believe that I am entitled to any and all variations embraced within the scope of the following claims.

1 claim:

l. In an ice making apparatus, a brine tank, a plurality of ice cans disposed there in, an insulator positioned in each ice can and located within the bottom portion thereof and having Vertical walls extending npwardly a limited distance along the Vertical walls of the can a pipe eXtending through one wall of the insulator and projecting through one wall of the can and adapted to introduce fluid under pressure into the insulator for agitating purposes, and means connected with said pipe for holding' the insulator in position in the bottom of the can.

2. An insulator for an ice making apparatus adapted to be positioned within the bottom of an ice-can, comprising a receptacle having spaced side walls and spaced bottom walls, a filling of heat insulating material between the spaced walls of the receptacle, and a pipe extending through the bottom of the insulator into communication with the interior thereof, said pipe projecting below the bottom of the insulator and adapted to be connected outside the ice can with a source of fluid supply under pressure for purposes of raw water agitation.

3. An ice making apparatus, comprising a receptacle for the water to be frozen, an insulator covering the bottom and a portion of the sdes of the receptacle, and heating means carried by the insulator to free the ice in the receptacle from the insulator.

t. An insulator for an ice making machine, constructed to cover the bottom of an ice can and eXtend upwardly a limited distance along each Vertical wall thereof, and provided with a heating Conduit whereby a portion of the surface of the insulator may be heated. I

An insulator for an ice can, comprising a quantity of insulating material surrounded by a metallic casing, heating means embedded in the insulating material, and heat conducting means connecting said heat-ing means with said casing.

6. An insnlator for an ice can, comprising a quantity of insulating material surrounded by a water-proof casing and adapted to fit the bottom of an ice can, and a heating device oarried by said insulator whereby a portion of the insulator surface may be heated.

7. An insulator for an ice making machine, constructed to fit the bottom of an ice can and insulate the bottom wall and a portion of the vertical walls thereof, said insulator having means carried thereby for applying heat to a portion of the surface of the in sulator.

8. An ice making apparatus, comprising an ice can, an nsulator positioned in the bottom thereof, a heating Conduit disposed within said insulator, heat conducting means connecting said heating Conduit with the surface of the insulator, and a pipe projecting through the bottom of the can and through said insulator to introduce air into the can.

9. An ice making apparatus, comprising an ice can, an insulator positioned in the bottom thereof, heating means carried by said insulator, a pipe pro'j ecting through the bottom of the can and through said insulator to introduce air into the can, and inlet and outlet pipes communicating with said heating means for the circulation of heating medium.

HERBERT HECHEIMER. VVitnesses:

IBA J. WILsoN, T. D. BUTLER.

copies of this patent may be ohtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

